The Hokage's Mandate
by Sakucherryblossoms
Summary: Konoha's elite are being hunt down and murdered by a rogue group known as the Akatsuki. Because of this, Tsunade issues a mandate to ensure no more lives are lost. One anbu member is to accompany all ninja, jounin level or below, whenever they leave the village to go on a mission. Sakura isn't sure how to deal with the anbu member she was given. Itachi X Sakura non-massacre.
1. Chapter 1

The Hokage's Mandate

Konoha's elite are being hunt down and murdered by a rogue group known as the Akatsuki. Because of this, Tsunade issues a mandate to ensure no more lives are lost. One anbu member is to accompany all ninja, jounin level or below, whenever they leave the village to go on a mission. When Sakura is required to leave the village on an emergency mission, she isn't quite sure how to take the anbu she is assigned. ItachiXSakura non-massacre

Hello all! I am dedicating this story to the wonderful BloodyMoonEclyps, because she was the 1000th reviewer on one of my other stories! I'm not quite sure how long this story will be, but it definitely will not be a one-shot. Now please, sit back and enjoy!

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto

* * *

The day had started just as any other day for Sakura. She had woken to the sound of her fridge door being slammed shut, and to Naruto and Sasuke-kun's loud whispers as they fought over who had to be the one to wake her up this time.

Kami-sama she loved those two, but seriously? She had just gotten home from a double shift at the hospital, where she had to perform emergency surgery _twice_. If Sakura didn't get some more sleep she was seriously going to murder someone… preferably which ever teammate deemed themselves brave enough to come into her room to wake her up.

Shoving her face into her pillow, Sakura desperately tried to ignore the two as they bickered, but it seemed like today just wasn't her day. At this point in the morning, the sun was at the perfect angle to shower her bedroom with a copious amount of sunlight. The two were only getting louder too, so even when she tried to find salvation under her pillow, she just couldn't.

Deciding that if she was going to be up she would need some coffee, Sakura ignored the clothes she was currently wearing, because the boys had certainly seen her in blood stained hospital scrubs before, and headed into the kitchen.

"Why does it always smell like death in here, Sakura-Chan?" Naruto asked as his nose wrinkled when she walked into the kitchen. "You need to clean your apartment more."

"Excuse me?" Sakura asked with an eyebrow raise. He seriously wasn't implying that his apartment smelled better than hers, was he?

"I was just saying Sakura-Chan," Naruto said as his eyes moved over to her form. Sakura took great satisfaction in seeing Naruto's wide, doe-eyed look; serves him right for breaking into her apartment at- Sakura turned to look at the clock- nine in the morning. "You look awful Sakura-Chan! Why aren't you still sleeping?"

"Gee," Sasuke said as he flicked one of his cherry tomatoes at Naruto's head. "I wonder why she's awake, Dobe. I told you we should have been quieter."

"Well I didn't know you had to work late yesterday, Sakura-Chan!" Naruto said while he quickly stood from his seated position at the table. If he knew what was good for him, he'd grab her some coffee. If she didn't get coffee soon, Sakura was sure she someone really was going to die.

"I wasn't supposed to," Sakura said while she found a seat to slouch in. Sakura usually took great pride in her posture, but after the rough day she had yesterday, exhaustion weighed heavy on her shoulders, and a slouch was her preferred method of sitting. "I was pulled into a second shift after two different jounin teams came in…"

"What happened?" Naruto asked in curiosity as he passed her a mug full of coffee. It seemed the blond did know better.

"Classified," Sakura said while she took a long sip of coffee; it wasn't unknown to others that Sakura found coffee to be the most precious liquid in the whole world. Whenever she wasn't on a mission, she also wasn't functional without it.

Now that sleepiness no longer clouded her mind, her thoughts floated back to Naruto's question. Even though Sakura wanted nothing more than to tell her teammates about what had happened, she knew how important it was to keep this information quiet for the time being. The information was sensitive, but she knew the Hokage was going to have a meeting regarding the issue later today.

It had become a reoccurring theme. Over the past month, twenty Konoha teams had come back to the village severely injured, and three teams had not come back at all. It seemed that whatever was happening was a not-so-subtle attack on Konoha.

She doubted another Hidden Village would be attacking them so openly, and to such an extent. Konoha did not get along with some of the other villages; having many of their relations be called strained was a bit of an understatement. That did not mean any of the other Kage were stupid enough to start this type of war against Konoha; especially in Konoha's own backyard without the Hokage even knowing.

The attacks couldn't just be written off as coincidence either, because of the amount of instances that had occurred and the severity of them. There was something or someone out there hunting Konoha shinobi.

"…Sakura-Chan?" Naruto asked after Sakura took another sip of her coffee. Her eyes widened for a second before an embarrassed smile caught her lips.

"Sorry Naruto," Sakura said as she looked at the neglected looking blond. A pout was scrunched up on Naruto's face; he looked more than a little ridiculous with his bottom lip jutted outward. "What were you saying?"

"He ignored the fact that you said whatever happened at the hospital was classified and was trying to accost you for an answer," Sasuke said with a slight shrug. For this reason only, Sakura appreciated Sasuke-kun's brother being in Anbu. Whenever Sasuke heard about something being classified, he understood not to pry. Naruto on the other hand…

"But Sakura-chaaaaaan," Naruto pouted, and Sakura shook her head before standing. She walked over to the coffee pot and poured herself another cup of coffee.

"But Sakura-chan nothing," Sakura said with an eye roll. She started to head back out of the kitchen before she paused in the doorway. "I certainly hope you two didn't eat all the food I had in that fridge… I just got groceries before I started work yesterday, and Kami-sama knows I'm going to be hungry after I get out of the shower."

Sakura could hear the two gulp as she started to walk away. After being teammates for six years, those two were almost too easy to manipulate.

XxX

No one had ever accused Itachi of being stupid, quite the contrary in fact. As Itachi grew older, everyone had only continued to tell him how incredibly intelligent he was for his age. Even now, at the age of twenty-four, everyone saw him as one of the strongest shinobi in the village.

That was why when the Hokage had called him into her office this morning, he already had an idea as to what she was going to say.

"Hokage-sama," Itachi bowed fluidly as he flickered in front of her. Tsunade-sama was more than used to Itachi appearing in front of her in such a manner, therefore she did not seem to be fazed at his sudden appearance. "You wished to see me."

"You probably already know what this is about," Tsunade said while leaning back in her chair. Itachi noticed the heavy stress lines that marred the Hokage's face, and knew that the topic she wanted to talk with him about had caused her a great deal of stress.

"A little over one month ago," Tsunade began, defeat rang heavy in her tone. "I sent a team of two chuunin and a jounin to recover a lost scroll from Wave. On the way back from their mission, a group of ninja intercepted them, and left them all in critical condition. Two of the team died, and the other one is still in a coma… That was the first of the attacks."

"There have been twenty confirmed cases," Itachi spoke easily recounting the attacks and remembering exactly when each attack had happened. He was no Nara, but Itachi's mind could easily remember the dates. "And three teams who have gone missing."

"Hai," Tsunade said as she clenched her fists. "This silent attack… it's a declaration of war. I have my theory as to who is behind the attack, but without confirmation my hands are tied."

"What are you going to do?" Itachi wondered, for she had many different courses of action she could take.

"I refuse to let any more of my ninja die," Tsunade said in determination. "But I also cannot turn away missions, for we need revenue. Therefore, at the meeting later today, I am going to issue a mandate of sorts. Every ninja under Anbu rank will be required to travel with an Anbu member for the whole duration of their mission."

"Hn," Itachi spoke sounding thoughtful, "This mandate will make many people unhappy… they will believe you are undermining their skill."

"I don't care whether they like it or not," Tsunade said with a frown. "This is what needs to be done to keep my ninja safe. With the seemingly invisible threat that is out there, they will come to understand how important this mandate is."

"And as an Anbu captain you want me to help coordinate which Anbu member should be placed on each mission," Itachi drew his own conclusion, though he had little doubt he was wrong.

"Are you sure you don't have a Nara in your ancestry?" Tsunade made a poor attempt to joke with him, though Itachi knew it was enough to ease some of the Hokage's own tension.

"Aa," Itachi said with a slight quirk of his lips. "I will tell Okaasan I will be late to dinner then."

"You Uchiha and your mothers," Tsunade said with a slight shake of her head. Itachi had half a mind to be offended, though he knew how much of a mama's boy he was… Sasuke reminded him daily about that. "I'll see you in a few hours then."

"Aa," Itachi nodded before flickering out of her office. Once he had landed in the streets outside of the Hokage tower, Itachi took purposeful strides toward the Anbu headquarters. Itachi would need to look over the files on his fellow Anbu members if he were to feel confident enough pairing said members with Tsunade-sama's ninja.

He would also need to find Shikamaru. Shikamaru's mind was unmatched in intelligence, and Itachi was sure he and Tsunade-sama would need Shikamaru as a consultant while they matched up Anbu members with regular teams.

"How could you eat everything in her fridge, Dobe?" Itachi was mildly surprised when he heard a familiar voice. He of course could sense Sasuke and Naruto's chakra, but he hadn't given it a second thought until he had heard his little brother's voice.

"I was hungry Teme," Naruto's voice whined. "And don't tell me I was the only one eating her food… how were we supposed to know she had been in back to back emergency surgeries anyway?"

"There's been a lot more of those happening recently," Sasuke sounded suspicious. Had his Otouto caught on to the attacks occurring outside of Konoha? Sasuke was rather intelligent himself, so Itachi had little doubt believing his brother hadn't noticed something devious was going on.

"Poor Sakura-Chan," Naruto said, and Itachi could hear the frown in his voice. Itachi took that moment to think about what he was supposed to be doing. He really did not need to find Shikamaru immediately; the lazy Nara would be required to be at the meeting this afternoon anyway. Itachi would approach him there, and gain his assistance in pairing up teams. He could also go over the Anbu files at night and look through them in leisure. Itachi found himself barely sleeping as it was, so it wasn't like he didn't have enough time to review them.

For it had been a while since he had last had a chance to see his beloved Otouto. Between the missions both of them took, Itachi thought it had been a month since the two had last conversed. Making his decision easily, Itachi relocated and found himself standing behind Naruto.

"I thought Okaasan usually did the grocery shopping, Otouto," Itachi said while he came into view of the two. He watched Naruto jump at his sudden arrival, and Itachi found it mildly amusing. He was more than proud to see Sasuke had not reacted at all; it seemed the Hokage wasn't the only one who was used to Itachi's stealthy appearances.

"Don't scare us like that Itachi!" Naruto scowled as he went back to looking at the food stand in front of them. "I thought you were Sakura-Chan for a second… If she comes out of that shower before we bring her back some food…"

Both Sasuke and Naruto cringed at that thought, and Itachi felt his amusement rise. Yes, he had heard many things about his little brother's teammates, but it had only been recent, within the past few years in fact, that news had begun to spread about how terrifyingly strong the young pinkette was. The rumors had probably started when she had taken her apprenticeship with the Hokage.

Hmm, now that Itachi thought about it, he had never really seen Sakura's abilities, inside the hospital or out. If it was enough to make both Naruto and Sasuke flinch, though, it may be looking into. Anbu was always in dire need of medics of high caliber.

"Why would you be buying Sakura-san food, Naruto-kun?" Itachi asked as if he hadn't heard the two complaining about eating all of her food earlier. He was mildly curious as to why the two had eaten the food in the first place; Itachi knew they both had their own food to eat, or they could have went to that ramen stand.

"He ate all her food, Aniki," Sasuke drawled out with a sigh; Itachi knew this whole situation was giving his little brother a headache, but Itachi could feel no pity for him. It was likely Sasuke was just as much at fault as Naruto was for this.

"We," Naruto gave Sasuke an accusing look. "We ate all her food Teme."

"…She keeps tomatoes in her house for me anyway," Sasuke said with a small glare as he crossed his arms over his chest.

Itachi's lip twitched upward at the two. Sasuke and Naruto hadn't always been so amicable when they had first started as a team. Naruto and Sasuke fought much like cats and dogs did. It wasn't until they fought together in the Chuunin exams that their bond started to truly develop.

"Just like she keeps ramen at her house for me!" Naruto said as he mimicked Sasuke's stance. Itachi raised an eyebrow at the two.

"So you two only ate the ramen and tomatoes?" Itachi asked, not sounding convinced. It was highly unlikely a medic would only keep those two foods within their home. Nutrition was an important thing to medics; in his youth, Shisui had been on the receiving end of their lectures regarding nutrition more than a handful of times. After said lectures, Itachi had always had to listen to Shisui complain about healthy eating for the next week.

"…Well Sakura-Chan is a really good cook too!" Naruto's arms dropped as he frowned, and tried to defend his actions. "And she had some onigiri, shrimp tempura, sashimi, and dango that was just wasting away in her fridge…"

"It wasn't wasting away, Dobe," Sasuke said with his own frown. "She said she had just gotten groceries yesterday."

"That didn't stop you from eating all of her tomatoes and rice balls!" Naruto accused, desperately trying to place the blame upon another.

"Onigiri?" Itachi asked mildly curious. Sasuke usually refused to eat anyone other than their Okaasan's rice balls.

"… They are really good," Sasuke admitted, slightly defeated.

"Better than Okaasan's?" Itachi found himself asking. He had yet to meet a rice ball he did not like, but that did not mean his Okaasan's weren't his favorite.

"A-about even," Sasuke slightly stuttered.

Now this he did find truly surprising. Itachi knew that if Okaasan had heard Sasuke, she would have been decidedly crushed. The Uchiha Matriarch was always so proud of her recipes and dishes.

"I believe I will have to try one of Sakura-san's rice balls sometime then," Itachi decided, because if Sasuke actually enjoyed someone else's rice balls, Itachi knew they would have to be some of the best tasting rice balls he would ever taste.

"She'll have to make them again first," Naruto said with a pout as he pointed to a head of lettuce. He turned to Sasuke and raised the vegetable high enough for the younger Uchiha to see. "Do you think she'll want a salad when she's done with her shower?"

"No I don't want a damn salad," Sakura said in exasperation as she appeared before the group. Itachi watched as both Sasuke and Naruto flinched; he didn't understand why, though, because he had been able to sense Sakura's chakra for some time now. It seemed the two were expecting some type of retaliation for not getting her food to her on time. "I want some dango and tea."

"I'm sure Ichiraku has-"

"Don't be an idiot, Dobe," Sasuke cut him off easily. Itachi watched Sasuke approach their pink haired teammate with apprehensive steps. "Let's go to the dango stand down the block, Sakura."

"Hm," Sakura nodded her affirmation and turned back to Naruto. Itachi couldn't see the look on her face, as she was looking to Naruto instead of himself, but by Naruto's reaction, Sakura's look must have been something fierce. "I hope you brought Gama-Chan, Naruto, because I plan on having _a lot_ of dango."

"Aw, Sakura-Chaaaan!"

"And I'm sure Itachi-san would like some as well," Sakura decided as she headed toward the stand. "You'll be a good Naruto-kun and pay for him as well, right?"

Itachi found his lips twitching up in amusement as he followed behind the three. Yes, if this girl could put the Kyuubi in his place without so much as lifting a finger, Itachi thought she would probably do well in Anbu.


	2. Chapter 2

Hello all! Sorry this update has been a long time coming. Hopefully you're all still interested in what this story has to offer! Happy reading!

This story is dedicated to BloodyMoonEclyps, who was the 1000th reviewer for one of my other fics Strength Within Myself. Thank you dear!

The Hokage's Mandate 2

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto

* * *

"I'm sorry Itach-san," Sakura said while the two followed Sasuke-kun and Naruto to the dango stand. She hadn't meant to rope the older Uchiha into her punishment of the boys, but her wraith had known no bounds. The idea of making Naruto pay more for dango was more than enough to invite the Uchiha along without thinking of the repercussions. "You don't have to come with us if you don't want to."

"Aa," Itachi inclined his head with a twitch of his lips. "I am able to make my own decisions."

"Of course you are," Sakura said with a sigh and an eye roll. So much for trying to be polite and feeling bad for practically forcing him to come along. "I've known for a while all you Uchiha men are able to make your own damn choices."

"And if I want to spend my afternoon watching you teach my foolish Otouto and Naruto-kun a lesson, I will," Itachi said as his lips twitched upward again. "That and I wouldn't want you to destroy my favorite dango stand if the two did something even more offensive to you."

"Even though they deserve it sometimes?" Sakura asked sending Itachi a meaningful look, because those boys deserved more than a punch to the head sometimes for all the shit they put her through.

"Even though they most likely deserve it all of the time," Itachi agreed with her.

Even as the dango stand came into view, Sakura rolled her eyes at the Uchiha's response. "Have you been back in the village long, Itachi-san?"

"Hm?" Itachi asked as his eyes stayed on the two in front of them.

"Sasuke-kun said you had been out of the village quite a bit lately," Sakura said as she ignored the two in front of her. Naruto and Sasuke-kun were fighting about something; she could tell by the bumping of their shoulders and the increasing volume of their voices. It seemed Itachi was amused by it, but Sakura had seen this scene way too many times over the past few years to find it anything other than normal. "I am wondering if you came back to the village for a specific reason…"

"You are aware of the meeting later this afternoon," Itachi sent Sakura a meaningful look, and she was sure that was all she was going to get from the tight-lipped Uchiha. She was aware of the meeting yes, and she did know what Tsunade-shishou had wanted to talk about, but she didn't know how Tsunade-shishou was going to address the issue and ultimately try to solve the problem.

She doubted she was going to get anything out of Itachi, even though she figured he knew what the meeting was going to be about and what Tsunade-sama was going to do about it. He was a captain in anbu, and one of Tsunade's most trusted confidants.

"I am," Sakura said while she sighed deeply. The two in front of them had managed to make it to the dango stand without getting into a fistfight, and were currently trying to order as many dango as possible. It seemed Naruto was really taking her suggestion seriously, because he had made shadow clones to hold all of the sticks of dango for her.

"Hm," Itachi made a small noise of amusement. "Does this type of thing happen quite often?"

"More often than you would think," Sakura said as she sat down on a bench a few yards away from the stall. Itachi took a seat next to her, politely giving her a foot of space. "The first time this happened was when I was twelve and they almost hit me with both the rasengan and the chidori."

"Aa," Itachi nodded with a small frown. "I remember Okaasan grounding Otouto for that one. She barred him from training for a week. He was told he should not use that move against a comrade."

"Those two idiots were told a lot when they were younger," Sakura said while she eyed the two fondly. They were idiots yes, but they were her idiots. She accepted the first few dango sticks from the Naruto clone with one hand, and then dismissed it with the other. The satisfying 'thud' the clone made as she dispersed it with a quick punch made the dango taste all the better in her mouth.

She noticed Itachi's questioning look, and she smiled over the dango stick that lay in her mouth. "It helps me get out my anger without actually hitting Naruto… It's a highly recommendable practice when you're angry."

"… I'll have to remember that."

XxX

To say he had been sufficiently entertained from his earlier lunch with his Otouto and his team would be a bit of an understatement. He had found watching his brother and Naruto-kun skirt around Sakura to be more than amusing; the two had practically waited on her hand and foot.

It was absurd to think that a small, pink haired woman had reduced two of the strongest jounin into lowly foot servants, but she had, and Itachi was going to make sure his little brother never lived it down. He wouldn't even have to say anything; Itachi was sure Sasuke was going to be ashamed enough as it was.

Now though, Itachi had to suppress his amusement, because the time for the meeting had come. Itachi leaned against the back of the conference room as jounin and anbu level ninja trickled in. After lunch, he had managed to go back to anbu headquarters to acquire his anbu files. The files were sealed within a scroll on his pouch, and he had been able to look over them briefly before he had to come to the meeting.

He was a little disappointed at what he found from that brief viewing of his people's files, because there were not nearly as many competent anbu as he had been hoping for. The idea of having one anbu member to every mission that came in and out of the village was going to be stressful, and was going to run all of the anbu members ragged.

Members of anbu would be able to take it, Itachi was sure, but he'd have to talk to Tsunade-sama about getting them all regular check-ups before and after they came back from missions.

"You're brooding more than usual Cousin," Itachi heard to his right. Itachi nodded briefly to the man beside him.

"Shisui," He said as he greeted his cousin. "I do not brood."

"It's an Uchiha trait," Shisui said waving him off with a good-natured smile. "All you fuddy-duddies to it."

"… I won't deem a response necessary for that comment," Itachi said as he turned his eyes to the crowd of people. His eyes scanned the crowd and he found his little brother rather easily sitting next to Naruto-kun. Itachi was at first surprised to find Sakura was not next to the two, but he shouldn't have been once he realized where she was standing.

"Everyone important is here, I guess," Tsunade said as she stood from her chair. Sakura stood behind her, and for a second Itachi was surprised Shizune was not in the meeting. After thinking a moment, he realized that there were still many shinobi at the hospital who needed medical attention, and he assumed that was where she was. "Kakashi is probably smart enough to figure out what's going on… and if he shows up to this meeting more than five minutes late, he's going to be on guard duty for the next six months."

"Maah," Kakashi poofed into the room with a slight wave of his hand. Itachi had to quell his smirk at his old superior; even if this was not the time for jokes, Kakashi always had a flare for the dramatic. "I'm sorry Tsunade-sama. Anko was having me test the traps in the Forest of Death and-"

"I don't want to hear your lame excuses Hatake," Tsunade said with a glare, and Itachi decided not to inform her that Kakashi was actually telling the truth this time. Anko had asked Kakashi to test the traps in the Forest of Death. Konoha was going to hold the Chuunin exams within the next few months and she had wanted the forest to be even more deadly than it already was.

"We have something very important to discuss here," Tsunade said with a deep sigh, and Itachi caught her eye as she began to explain everything the two of them had been talking about earlier. "Over the past month Konoha teams have been attacked while out on a mission.

"It started with a team of one jounin and two chuunin," Tsunade continued as she began to pace around the front of the room. Itachi could feel the tension in the room begin to rise, and the light chatter from his comrades turned into a silence so heavy it weighed heavily upon everyone's shoulders. "Since then there has been twenty attacks on teams and three teams have gone missing… We believe this is a silent declaration of war against Konoha."

The silence in the room didn't last long, and many people started to yell in outrage. Itachi watched the few people who didn't seem surprised: Shisui, Kakashi, Sakura, and Shikamaru.

"Some of the teams have managed to survive," Tsunade let out a deep breath. "However, many lives have been lost that I could have prevented. Because these attacks only seem to occur when I send you all out on missions, I am issuing a mandate. Whenever a team leaves for a mission, I will have a member of anbu escorting them. This will occur from now until we can confirm this threat is over."

"Baa-Chan!" Naruto-kun's loud voice rose above the rest. "Who the hell is attacking us? And why the hell aren't we going to do something about it!? We need to kick this person's ass for hurting our village and our comrades!"

A lot of the younger generation seemed to agree with Naruto's statement, but before Tsunade-sama could explain herself, someone from the younger generation spoke up in her defense.

"We can't go out accusing people of starting a war Naruto," Sakura seemed to be the voice of reason because many people quieted down to hear what she had to say. "If we accuse the wrong country of war, then we could cause an international incident. Then we would have two countries who would want to destroy us… and I don't even think one of the other countries would try to attack us like this… it has to be someone, or something else."

Itachi's gaze grew sharp as he watched the pinkette finish speaking; she was smart to have deduced that all on her own. Unless there was a reason why she would have thought that? He may have to include her in his meeting with Shikamaru later to see if she had anything to contribute.

"But Sakura-Chan who do you think-"

"There is much we still don't know," Tsunade addressed the whole group with a deep frown. "But I'm not willing to take the chance anymore. The mandate has already been issued and the Council has approved it. I will hear no more protests concerning this.

"Now," Tsunade continued as she walked back to her chair to sit down. She sat down with a heavy sigh, and Itachi thought she looked every bit her fifty-eight years. "I want you all out of my office. I will start assigning missions and teams this evening. I hope you all understand that I expect you to behave like professionals; I know most of you are not used to working with anbu, but that shouldn't mean anything. It is all for the protection and betterment of the Leaf Village, am I understood? I don't want to hear any grief for any of you."

There was a brief pause, and Itachi was surprised more people weren't saying anything. He was sure many of the jounin in the room were feeling their skills were being undermined, but Itachi had to agree that this mandate seemed to be a good idea for ensuring the safety of the people.

"Good," Tsunade said with a nod. "Now scram. I'll send for you all when I need you."

Itachi watched the shinobi in the room scatter quickly. It was obvious Tsunade-sama had a lot on her plate, and she wouldn't want to deal with anyone complaining to her. It took a moment before Itachi started to stride to her desk; his little brother, Naruto-kun, Sakura, Shisui, and Kakashi were the only ones left in the office.

"What's going on Baa-Chan?" Naruto frowned. "Is there really someone trying to start a war with us?"

"It seems so, yes," Tsunade's shoulders were slumped.

"… Was this what had you so busy at the hospital, Sakura-Chan?" Naruto turned to the pinkette, and his frown worsened.

"I was able to save the team that came in yesterday," Sakura nodded, and Itachi knew that including her in on his meeting with Shikamaru was now necessary; she understood what type of weapons and jutsu the enemy shinobi used. She would be indispensable in helping to understand how the enemy sought out their ninja and how they were able to ambush them. "Whenever a new team comes in, Tsunade-shishou has me working on them… some have gotten to me too late."

"You shouldn't have to feel responsible, Sakura-Chan! You're an amazing medic and if you couldn't heal them, then there was nothing anyone could have done." Naruto raged as his chakra flared unconsciously; Itachi could feel the anger radiating off the young man. "I'm going to murder them when we find out who it is!"

"There is no guarantee the mandate is going to work," Shisui spoke from beside him, "But it is the best course of action. It will take at least a few months to figure out who is doing the attacks and what their motives are behind them."

Itachi could remember only two other times where he had seen his cousin so serious, and that was when he and Shisui had talked the elders into not ordering Itachi to massacre the clan, and when the two of them had talked their clan into not attacking the village.

"I'm still going to-"

"Let's go to the training grounds, Dobe," Sasuke spoke up for the first time since the meeting had ended. He was able to cut off Naruto-kun before the blond got lost in another rant. "We'll see if you're quick enough to dodge my chidori infused senbon needles. If you are, then maybe you would be able to beat whoever has been attacking the village."

"Of course I am Teme!" Naruto yelled with a challenging look in his eyes. "Do you think you're quick enough to dodge my rasengan shuriken?"

"Psh, Dobe," Sasuke said with an eye roll. "Like that's even a question."

A light smirk tilted on Itachi's lips, and he watched his Otouto walk to the door behind Naruto-kun. Before his brother departed from the room, though, he made eye contact with Sakura. It was obvious what Sasuke was conveying in the eye contact: he wanted to know what else the group talked about after he and Naruto left.

"I'll be by in an hour or so to make sure you guys haven't killed each other," Sakura waved a hand at the two; she seemed to understand what Sasuke had wanted her to, because he left without another word.

"Now that it is just us," Kakashi said with an eyebrow raise, "May I enquire as to who is attacking our humble village?"

"I'm sure you already have an idea," Tsunade said as she sank lower in her seat. Itachi felt the fatigue and stress radiate off the Hokage in waves. "But I can't confirm or deny it until Jiraiya is able to send me back some information… if that pervert ever gets around to not checking out women and actually checking into leads."

"… He does have a new book due out soon," Kakashi said with a wistful sigh, and Itachi had to prevent himself from sighing; Kakashi would never change it seemed.

"Kakashi Hatake don't you dare make me-"

"Ooh, Tsunade-shishou," Sakura spoke, catching everyone's attention. "I found where Shizune hid your best sake."

"Well bring it here then damn it," Tsunade said as she sat back in her seat. "Now that the meeting is over, I think I deserve a cup."

It seemed his brother wasn't the only one who could deflect and distract someone, and this was the Hokage no less. To say Itachi wasn't impressed would be a lie.

"Anyone else want a shot while we're at it?" Tsunade said, offering up the porcelain cup to the rest of the group. "Kami-sama knows we could all use a shot after that meeting."

"It went well Shishou," Sakura said easily as she poured her mentor another shot. "People will learn to understand how important the mandate is, and why it is necessary."

"… If I send you out on a mission, you'll be needing an anbu escort as well, Sakura," Tsunade told her mildly as she downed another shot of sake.

"Aa," Sakura said after only a moment of silence, and Itachi could have sworn he saw the look of uncertainty flash in her eyes before she continued. "I know that Tsunade-shishou."

"Well good," Tsunade said with a nod of her head. "Now I need everyone to scram! Didn't I tell you people to get out of my office earlier? And Sakura, leave that sake jug… And seal the door behind you!"

Itachi frowned as he headed to the door. There were a number of things he would have to do before he got to sleep tonight, if he was even able to. He needed to find Shikamaru, and come up with a time to meet. He had wanted to include Sakura in his meeting as well, so he would also need to talk to her before they parted ways. Itachi found his eyes scanning over Sakura and then moved over to his cousin who still stood in the hallway; it was no surprise to him that they were the only three in the hallway, Kakashi had already disappeared. It may be beneficial to include his cousin in the meeting as well.

Itachi waited until Sakura sealed the conference room door before he sought her out.

"Sakura-san," Itachi took a step toward the pinkette. "I was wondering if you'd be available this evening?"

"You didn't get enough of my charming company this morning, Itachi-san?" Sakura said with a slight smirk as she looked back at him. Itachi swore he heard Shisui's sudden intake of breath from behind him, but he chose to ignore it.

"As lovely as this morning was," Itachi said to humor her, "I'm afraid this evening won't be a social call."

"… It's about the mandate then?" She questioned with a frown.

"Aa," Itachi nodded, deciding he didn't need to disclose all of his reasons. He had figured her medical knowledge on the previous attacks would be helpful, but her tactical analysis on who was attacking the village had left him pleasantly surprised.

"What time were you thinking?" Sakura asked as she nodded her head in understanding.

"Would 8 o'clock be too inconvenient of a time?" Itachi wondered, because he would still need to stop at home and have dinner with his family. He knew his mother would worry if he didn't, and he really didn't want his mother to worry about him… Maybe the Hokage was right about him being a Mommy's boy…

"No that time works for me," Sakura said with a nod. "At your office then?"

"Aa," Itachi said with a nod. "I will see you then, Sakura-san."

"See you, Itachi-san," she said as she left the building. He had little doubt she was headed to the training grounds to make sure Naruto-kun and his brother didn't end up killing each other.

"…"

"Yes Shisui?" Itachi asked, because from where he was standing, he could feel the sly look that was on Shisui's face, and he knew it was directed at his person.

"You and Sakura-san?" Shisui asked with a raised eyebrow.

"I merely had lunch with her this morning," Itachi said with a slight shrug; Itachi could not see why it would be so surprising for him to have lunch with her. "But that is not important right now. I will also need you at the meeting tonight at 8-"

"Are you sure you don't want some more time with Sakura-san?" Shisui asked playfully. Itachi could only sigh; his cousin would never let him live this down.

"8 o'clock Shisui," Itachi sent Shisui a stern look before he started to head out of the tower. He would need to find Shikamaru before he went home.

"I won't mind being the third wheel to your date tonight," Shisui said as he started to head in the opposite direction. "I hope it won't disappoint Sakura-san!"

Even if Itachi had wanted to respond, he already knew Shisui was out of hearing range. It was very much like his cousin to tease him and then disappear before Itachi was able to say anything in his defense.

Sighing in defeat, Itachi left the Hokage's office. The sooner he found Shikamaru, the better.


	3. Chapter 3

Hello all! Yes I am alive! Sorry it's been a while since I've updated any of my stories…. Life, ya know? You get a longer chapter because of my slacking, though!

I hope you're all still enjoying this story, because I know I'm enjoying writing it! It'll probably be slow going on the romance front because this is Sakura and Itachi we're talking about, but I do plan to leave little bits of cuteness here and there to satisfy your ItachiXSakura needs. You're welcome!

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto

* * *

Sakura wasn't sure if she should be amused, disappointed, or exasperated at what she found when she arrived at the training grounds.

"So are you guys napping, unconscious, or dead?" She asked both unmoving bodies that were sprawled out in front of her. They had not even been out of her sight for a full hour, and yet this did not surprise her in the least.

"Shub ub, Sabura-bhan," Sakura thought she heard Naruto mutter, but his face was pressed up against a mound of dirt, and she wasn't so sure she really heard him correctly.

"Surely my ears misheard your words, Naruto," Sakura said as she cast a glance in his direction. "Because I know _you'd_ never tell me to shut up, because _you_ know better."

She heard Sasuke-kun's snort of laughter in response, obviously remembering the last time Naruto had told her to 'shut up'. Sakura couldn't prevent the satisfaction she felt at seeing the spine-chilling shiver that followed her words, and decided to ignore the blond for now. He did not have any life threatening injuries, and she was sure the Kyuubi was already healing him.

As she walked over, if she hadn't already heard Sasuke-kun's snort, Sakura would have guessed he was unconscious. His body was laying motionless on the ground, his face looking up to the sky. She kneeled next to him, and a slight smirk spread across his face.

"Hn," Sasuke said as his eyes looked back toward Naruto. "Dobe."

"Oh shut up Sasuke-kun," Sakura said as she rolled her eyes. "The only reason I'm healing you first is because Naruto has the Kyuubi, not because I like you better."

She could practically feel the pout that set on his face when she finished her sentence, but she ignored that too. Instead, she allowed medical chakra to coat her hands and pressed them against Sasuke-kun's torso as she thought about the meeting she would be involved in tonight.

Even if she had been interested in knowing more about what was happening to the ninja in her village, Sakura was still surprised Itachi had asked her to attend the meeting tonight. It made sense, because she had been a part of every healing session and every autopsy that the unknown assailants had caused, but Sakura hadn't thought Itachi would actually think that far ahead. She should have known better, though, because Itachi was a genius.

Thinking of the meeting tonight, Sakura knew it would be a long one. If she was attending under the means of talking about the different injuries that had been caused by the unknown assailants, Sakura would have to bring both the notes from the hospital and the notes she always carried on hand; she had been lucky to grab them before she came to the training ground.

Tsunade-shishou had been trying to keep the whole situation under wraps until she had figured out what to do, which was why Sakura had been healing all of the ninja who had been attacked. It made sense to her, and now that the information of the attacks had gone public, Sakura was sure Tsunade-shishou would have more than just one person healing them, which also meant Sakura would have more chakra to spend on healing her idiot teammates, or doing missions outside of the village… Even though she would end up needing an escort if that were to happen.

She may have understood the necessity of the mandate itself, and had seemed like she supported the idea in the Hokage Tower, but in all actuality, Sakura still wasn't so sure about it. Sakura wasn't sure every group of jounin needed an anbu member to follow them around when they were on a mission. Frowning, Sakura absentmindedly continued to trail her hands up Sasuke-kun's chest as she kept her thoughts to herself.

"Hn?" Sasuke's eyebrows twitched upward, and Sakura knew he was asking her to share her thoughts.

"Nothing more was really shared," Sakura said as she made eye contact easily. Even though she still could not hide the emotions in her eyes, Sakura had learned how to use them to her advantage over the years. "Tsunade-shishou said we'd know more when Jiraiya-sama comes back to the village."

"And missions?" Sasuke asked after he took a moment to let the information sink in. He really had not missed anything important after he and Naruto had left… well other than her getting invited to a highly classified meeting by his brother, but she wasn't so sure she wanted to share that with him.

"We'll still have to be escorted by an anbu member," Sakura said with a slight frown at his pointed scowl. "Just because you and Naruto are both really strong, Sasuke-kun, doesn't mean you should be able to go around the country without added protection… there's a reason you guys haven't passed your anbu exams yet.

How hypocritical did that make her, Sakura found herself musing to herself. She knew the mandate was a good idea, but still, a part of her completely identified with the scowl Sasuke-kun previously had. Whatever kept her teammates safer would ultimately be okay with her, Sakura finally surmised.

"Whub are you guys talking about?" Naruto asked as he rolled himself over. Instead of looking directly at Naruto, Sakura focused her eyes on Sasuke-kun's almost healed chest instead.

"What I want to make for dinner tonight," Sakura said. She knew food would be a good distraction for her swirling thoughts, and she really didn't want to have a conversation about the mandate with Naruto at this moment. There was no doubt in her mind that he would go off like he had in Tsunade-shishou's office, and she really didn't want to deal with that. "Should I actually invite you two over to eat, or do you get more pleasure out of just showing up uninvited?"

"We know we're always welcome at your apartment, Sakura-Chan," Naruto said with an easy grin, and Sakura had to fight the urge to roll her eyes when they landed on him. His usual sparkly smile was crusted with brown dirt. "… But Sasuke-teme and I do get a kick out of showing up whenever we want to."

"You do realize that if I get a boyfriend you guys can't show up whenever you want," Sakura said with a thoughtful frown. "You never know what kind of hanky-panky type activities we'll be up to."

Sakura scowled at the resulting laughter that had bubbled out of both Naruto's and Sasuke's chests; she had meant it as a joke at first, but that didn't mean they could laugh that hard at her. "Hey don't mock me; I could totally get a boyfriend if I wanted to."

Sakura's scowl worsened when their laughter increased. "Both of your invitations to dinner have been revoked."

"Okaa-san would be disappointed if I missed dinner tonight anyway, especially since Aniki is home," Sasuke told her, laughter still in his eyes.

"Maa, Sakura-Chaaaaaan," Naruto pouted because she knew he didn't have any dinner plans. "But I'm starting to get hungryyyyy."

Sakura crossed her arms and turned away from both Sasuke-kun and Naruto. She had never really thought about getting a boyfriend much because missions and the hospital always kept her busy; within the past month the only things she had time to think about were her patients, food, sleep, and her teammates. She didn't have time for silly relationships… that didn't mean she enjoyed being mocked about it, though.

"I guess you'll just have to get ramen by yourself or go over to Sasuke-kun's house for dinner then," Sakura said as she set Naruto a dismissive look.

"We were teasing Sakura," Sasuke spoke with a slight frown. Good, Sakura thought, at least he seemed somewhat remorseful.

"Yeah!" Naruto agreed nodding his head enthusiastically. "You're just not really dating material, ya know?"

"Excuse me?" Sakura asked as she raised a delicate eyebrow. Oh, she was sure she was going to murder them.

"Yeah!" Naruto said, easily ignoring the look of warning Sasuke-kun was sending him; at least one of her teammates wasn't a complete imbecile. "You have no time to put into a relationship, you're scary, you get angry too easily, you're crazy strong, and you threaten me way too often. There's no way I would ever want to be one of your potential suitors!"

"…"

"…"

"… The Dobe doesn't know what he's talking about, Sakura," Sasuke said as Sakura kept her focus on Naruto… the idiot seemed to have finally realized what he had said to her, because his eyes were wide and he had gone pale. "You're a great cook and independent."

"And kind, and beautiful, and amazing, and wonderful," Naruto tried to backpedal as he realized his mistake. "And even though your chest isn't the biggest you still have-"

Sakura didn't even feel bad at cutting Naruto off with a punch to his chin. She also wouldn't feel bad about the beating she would be giving him either. Sometimes, Sakura decided, Naruto just needed to get his ass kicked so he'd learn to keep his mouth shut.

XxX

Itachi arrived home with enough time to shower before dinner. It was an unexpected treat because he was sure he was going to be late. He had found Shikamaru rather easily, and had convinced the young strategist to attend the meeting, only after beating him in a game of shogi.

Now, as he exited his shower feeling refreshed, Itachi found himself thinking over the meeting that was going to happen in a few hours.

He, Shisui, Shikamaru, and Sakura would try to find a dynamic that would work for both anbu, and jounin and chuunin teams. After that, though, he wanted to try to piece together more information about the group that was targeting Konoha shinobi.

After he dressed, Itachi slowly made his way to the kitchen. "Did you need help, Okaa-san?" Itachi inquired quietly as he watched her from the doorway.

"Oh Itachi-Chan!" His mother's smile widened at seeing him. "You're such a dear! I'd love it if you could start to bringing this into the dining room. I don't know why Sasuke-Chan isn't here yet, but I guess we'll have to get started without him."

"Hn," Itachi nodded as he smoothly started to grab the food his mother had painstakingly made. It was strange that his Otouto was not here yet; Sasuke knew how important family dinner was to the matriarch of the clan.

He decided not to worry about it though, as he continued to help his mother carry all of the food she had made to the table. His lips twitched upward at smelling the scent of dango in the kitchen; his mother had made his favorite food for dessert.

"Where's Sasuke?" Itachi's father asked as he walked into the dining room and sat down at the head of the table. Family dinner always started at 6 o'clock, and if Itachi's sense of time was correct, which it always was, then it was exactly 6 o'clock.

"Maybe he's stuck at the training grounds with Naruto-kun and Sakura-san?" Itachi voiced as he took his place to the left of his father. "He was headed there after the meeting with Tsunade-sama today."

"He knows when dinner is supposed to start," Mikoto frowned as she sat at the opposite end of the table as Itachi's father. "Do you think Sasuke-Chan is alright?"

"I'm sure he's fine Mikoto," Fuguku said with a frown as he nodded to the food. "We'll start without him."

"How was the meeting with Godaime-sama, dear?" Mikoto asked as she dished herself out some soup. "Is this going to put too much work on your shoulders?"

"You're aware of the mandate, correct?" Itachi asked, even though he already knew the answer.

"Tsunade-hime met with all of the clan heads yesterday," Fuguku nodded in return. "I believe this is the safest course of action for the village."

"Hn," Itachi nodded. "I'm going to have Shisui begin to look for any information around Konoha using the police force; is that alright, Tou-sama?"

"Hn," Fuguku grunted an affirmative. "I'll be able to spare a few police officers over the next month… Tsunade-hime has asked the Uchiha Police to be a part of border patrol for the next few months as well, though, so we will be kept busy."

"Not too busy?" Mikoto asked hopefully; of course his mother was worried about them all working too hard; he truly did appreciate this trait in his mother.

"No, Mikoto," Fuguku said with a slight smile. "I think-"

The front door opened and closed, cutting off what his father was going to say. Itachi raised an eyebrow at the slightly faster than normal footsteps he heard in the hallway leading up to the kitchen.

"Tamaida," His Otouto called as he appeared in the doorway. Sasuke's appearance only looked slightly rumpled; his hair was mussed, and his clothes were covered in a light layer of dirt. There was some dried blood on the corner of his shirt, though, and even though Itachi didn't believe it was his Otouto, he was still surprised and slightly concerned to see it there.

"Okaeri," Itachi breathed out a greeting back.

"Why are you late Sasuke-Chan?" Mikoto asked with a small frown from where she was sitting; she obviously could not see the blood, or she would have been more concerned over his brother's well-being. "Dinner was ready a few minutes ago."

"I had to take the Dobe to the hospital," Sasuke explained as he ran a hand through his hair and walked over to his seat. If Sasuke had taken Naruto-kun to the hospital, that was probably why he had blood on him, though, what still surprised Itachi was the fact that Sasuke looked so fine. Usually, when his Otouto and Naruto-kun sparred hard enough for one of them to be in the hospital, the other wasn't too far behind.

And, hadn't Sakura left the Hokage tower to ensure the two hadn't hurt each other too much? Surely Naruto-kun's wounds weren't so extensive that she could not heal them?

"Naruto-kun?" Mikoto asked as her frown deepened. "You didn't hurt him too badly did you, dear? I swear everyday your training gets more and more intense; it's almost too much for your poor mother to take!"

Sasuke's lips twitched up in a smirk before he shook his head, and the action caused Itachi to focus more on his little brother, and want he was going to say next; whatever it was, his Otouto found it amusing. "Our training was fine, Okaa-san, and I wasn't the one who inflicted the damage upon the Dobe."

"Sakura-san then?" His father asked, and Itachi noticed that his father's lip was twitching upward as well; was his Tou-sama really trying to prevent a smirk at the thought of Sakura Haruno beating Naruto-kun enough to cause him to go to the hospital?

"Hn," Sasuke confirmed with a nod.

"Oh no," Mikoto shook her head with a slight sigh. "Whatever did that boy do to poor Sakura-Chan this time?"

"He said Sakura wasn't dating material," Sasuke said with a slight shudder. "And proceeded to explain why he thought she wasn't."

"Oh that Naruto-kun!" Mikoto seemed truly upset, and Itachi really couldn't blame her. "Doesn't he know any better? What girl would want all of her faults put on display like that! I sure hope you made her feel better Sasuke-Chan!"

"Hn," Sasuke said with a nod as he took a sip of his miso soup. "I told her she was independent and a great cook to placate her."

"…" Mikoto looked crushed, and Itachi had to almost agree with his mother on that one. Even though Itachi did not know Sakura that well, he could come up with more positives about her than those two. She had grown a lot in the past few years and was now considered one of the strongest kunochi of her generation, she was the only medical ninja Tsunade-sama had trusted to heal all of the ninja who had been attacked recently, and had a sense of humor he found amusing. Those were the first three things that came to mind when he thought about her, and it didn't take him too long to list them.

"Those were the only two things you could come up with about Sakura-Chan?!" As his mother said those words, the smug look Sasuke had on his face was washed away. "Sasuke-Chan!"

She looked even more disappointed at Sasuke's response.

"Okaa-san," Sasuke whined out with a little frown.

"If that's what you said to placate her," Itachi started taking a sip of the tea his mother had served them, finding this situation more than amusing. "I would not like to hear what Naruto-kun told her."

At his words, Sasuke flinched and shook his head. "The Dobe didn't mean it to sound the way it came out," Sasuke said, and Itachi knew that Sasuke was right. Sasuke and Naruto had a deep understanding of each other, and each boy was able to easily understand the other's actions and words. "But to us, she isn't dating material. Sakura is Sakura; she's our teammate, our medic, our sister."

"… You didn't tell her that, did you?" Fuguku said with a slight sigh.

"No?" his Otouto said, and Itachi wondered why that sounded more like a question than an answer. His brother was truly hopeless when it came to women. "Should I have?"

His father's sigh was answer enough.

XxX

After giving Naruto the beating of his lifetime, Sakura was not satisfied. After confiscating Naruto's wallet to buy groceries with, Sakura was not satisfied. After watching Sasuke-kun drag Naruto to the hospital, Sakura was not satisfied. After spending an hour and a half cooking, Sakura was _still_ not satisfied.

At this point in time, Sakura wasn't sure anything was going to make her feel satisfied. Even after trying to clear her head and trying to understand Naruto was a fucking idiot and didn't always mean what he was trying to say, Sakura still could not forget what he had said about her… It was probably because much of what he said had hit home to her, meaning it was true.

Sakura was strong, and she knew that strength in a woman was often intimidating. But she had worked so hard to become who she was today, and she wasn't going to let anyone make her feel bad because of it. She had saved the lives of many of the people in her village with that strength, and when she was finally ready for a relationship, her potential partner should appreciate her skills and all she has done for the village.

And, the only time she was scary was when she threatened people, and she really only tried to threaten her teammates, and they totally deserved it.

Sighing deeply, Sakura packed up the food she had made in her attempt to relax, and headed to the door. The meeting with Itachi was in a half an hour, and she knew she wanted to get there early and try to clear her head before it started. She would embarrass herself in front of one of the smartest shinobi in the village if she didn't focus on what the topic on hand was.

Placing anbu members with jounin and chuunin teams to complete missions: that was what this mission was about. That, and Sakura was sure Itachi was going to want to know how their ninja were being attacked; Sakura was sure that was really why she was coming to this meeting.

She had been able to grab her notes from the hospital before she had visited Naruto and Sasuke-kun at the training grounds, and now she was glad she had the foresight to grab them; she didn't want to have to be at the hospital and hear Naruto's whining… when he was stuck in the hospital everyone could hear his complaining.

The notes she had taken were as detailed as she allowed them to be; they didn't say everything about the attacks, in fear that someone who was not authorized saw them. The notes said a good deal about the size of the wounds, if they were poisoned, at the speed at which she thought the attack had come, and if she had thought it was as surprise attack. Sakura had kept the more detailed information in her personal notes that she kept on her person at all times. That included: which ninja had been poisoned, what the chemicals and ingredients of the poison included (this had taken the most time to figure out), how many different people were involved in the attack, and a brief profile on each of the attackers.

She had found the last one to be the most interesting, because Sakura had only found six different types of wounds on the forty Konoha shinobi she had tried to heal.

Sakura jolted when she came to realize she had arrived in front of the anbu building already; her thoughts had thoroughly distracted her as she walked, and she had arrived quicker than what she had anticipated.

Opening the door to the headquarters, Sakura ignored the secretary at the front of the building and kept walking. Sakura had only gone to the building a few times to visit Kakashi-sensei, but she had spotted the corner office of Itachi rather easily, so she knew where she was going.

Heading up the stairs, Sakura heard a chipper whistle from behind her.

"Sakura-san!" Shisui said with a grin as he appeared beside her. Sakura raised an eyebrow as he scanned the contents of her hands; she'd knock him through the wall if he tried to take the food she had prepared for the meeting. "Did you bring Itachi-Chan some dinner?"

"… I just brought a few snacks for the meeting tonight," Sakura said as she tried to understand exactly what Shisui was up to. Kami-sama knew that Shisui was almost as mischievous as Naruto at times; what was worse was he was a lot sneakier than Naruto, so Shisui was usually able to get away with whatever mischief he was causing.

"Is that Onigiri? And dango? And Tamaki rolls?" Shisui asked raising an eyebrow. "I could carry it for you if you like?"

"… I want some of the food to actually make it to the meeting, Shisui-san," Sakura said easily dismissing his offer.

Sakura ignored his responding pout; she had become immune to pouts after being teammates with Sasuke-kun, Naruto, and Kakashi-sensei for as long as she had. It was cute for him to try though, Sakura thought as they reached the top of the stairs. "Did Itachi-san invite you to the meeting as well?"

"Yes," Shisui replied cheerfully, until he suddenly frowned at her. "I'm sorry it won't be just the two of you."

"Shisui-san?" Sakura blinked once in surprise.

"Yes, I know you and Itachi-san were looking forward to spending some time alo-"

"You two are the first to arrive," Itachi interrupted his cousin, while sending a slight glance in his direction. The glare Itachi sent wasn't so subtle, but Sakura decided she'd just ignore the oldest Uchiha; she had decided she would never be able to understand Shisui and his weird ways. "We're still waiting for Shikamaru, and then this meeting can begin."

"He probably won't show up until right on the dot," Shisui said with a slight pout. After a second his pout turned into a full blown smile, and he quickly said, "I'll just go pop over and grab him so we can get started… and leave you two with a little bit of alone time!"

Before Sakura or Itachi could say anything, Shisui had already disappeared, showing that his nickname wasn't just for show.

Sakura shook her head at Shisui's antics before she motioned to the containers in her hands. "I know everyone probably already ate, but I figured this meeting would run long, and we'd end up getting hungry."

"That's…" Sakura wasn't sure, but she thought she saw a small flash of surprise in Itachi's eyes. "That's very kind of you Sakura-san."

Seemingly as an afterthought, Itachi continued, "You'll make someone very happy someday."

Sakura wasn't sure why he had added that little comment, but she found that it seemed to satisfy her, and she was glad for it.


End file.
